Influence-machine.



Patented September 6, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

ISAAC W. DETWILLER, OF BUFFALO, NEINT YORK.

INFLUENCE-NIACHINE.I

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 769,438, dated September 6, 1904.

Application filed October 17, 1901.` Renewed Ianuary 16, 1904. Serial No. 189,377. (No model.)

T0 all whom, it puny concern:

Be it known that I, ISAAC IV. DETWILLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bui'- i'alo, in the county of Erie and State of New York,haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in lnluence-lvlachines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements in influence-machines, and more especially to improvements in means for starting and exciting the same.

My invention further relates to the discovery of means whereby a starter or exciter may be made a constituent part oi' and operative with the generator.

More speciiically my invention relates to means whereby influence-machines of the socalled nHoltz type may be made operative without a separate exciter and whereby the means employed to produce the necessary excitation inay be converted into means for generation and the accomplishment of this withoutl brush-contact.

My discovery may be stated as follows: If upon a shaft carrying armature-disks ot the Holtz type and having ordinary fields two stationary disks are mounted between one pair of Holtz disks, and if these two stationary disks are placed face to face with intervening paper and foil segments, and if these segments are connected electrically and brought to the outer surface of the disks, and if brushes be mounted upon these segments oi' the stationary disks and capable oi' frictional contact with one of the adjacent Holtz disks and the machine is then started excitation will follow and the stationary disks will act as elds having corresponding polaritywith the regular stationary fields, and thus the exciting lields and disks will act as a generator. Itl after the tension is established the brushes be removed, the stationary iield-disks will immediately change polarity, and vunder some conditions the excitation established will degenerate entirely, while under other conditions it will sometimes remain, so that the machine Will be operative. If, on the other hand, the brushes be moved out oi' contact with the Holtz plate, so that they act as combs, or itl they be entirely removed and regular combs substituted in their stead, the polarity of the two stationary field-disks will be held in correspondence with the polarity with the other fields, and from that on said stationary disks and the adjacent Holtz plates will unitedly act as a unit oi' the generator. It will be evident, therefore, that with this discovery I am able to construct an inliuencemachine wherein the unit, acting as an exciter at the starting of the machine, may be made a constituent unit in the generator.

I will now describe the 'construction and operation of the same by reference to the annexed drawings, consisting of one sheet, in which- Figure 1 is a diagrammatic perspective oi' my invention. Fig. 2 is a face view of one of the stationary field-disks, also showing at the rear in dotted outline a Holtz disk.

l l represent the armature-disks of the ordinary Holtz type.

2 represents one oi' the fields (the others being' omitted for clearness) of the segmental type, showing in outline the paper segments and the foil segments upon their edges. These are mounted in the well-known manner and require no further description. The combs 4C and the neutralizers 5 are in like manner of the well-known and familiar construction.

6 6 represent the held-disks of the exciter. These are mounted over the shaft of the armature and between a pair oil Holtz disks. The disks 6 6 are provided with paper segments 7 and foil segments 8. The foil segments 8 extend to the periphery of the disks and are connected laterally by rivets 9, uniting the plates and terminating in pivots which carry the brushes and combs, as hereinafter described. To these pivots in the quadrants of the combs are mounted brushes ll 1l, which are constructed so as to form contact -with one of the adjacent Holtz plates. These are so pivoted that they may be made to move in and out oi' contact with the faces of the adjacent Holtz plate.

10 l0 are combs of the ordinary type pivoted with the brushes above described, which may be brought into the position ot' the brushes and to take their place.

IOO

The operation is as follows: The brushes l1 11 are thrown into position to make contact with the adjacent rotating disks. Tension is produced and communicated to the plates l. This condition attained, the machine may be used in this form and under this condition, but has the objection of brushesin actual contact. To avoid this objection, the brushes are turned upon their pivot out of contact, and the combs 10 10 are thrown into the position occupied by the brushes, and thereupon the condition of polarity is maintained and the stationary fields and the adjacent Holtz plates operated as a constituent part or unit of the machine.

Having thus described my invention in a diagrammatic form and shown its method of operation, what l claim isl. In an influence-machine, one or more generating units requiring separate excitation, a stationary disk, brushes capable of producing initial excitation, and means for substituting combs for the brush-contact when the excitation is established, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. An inliuence-machine, consisting of rotating disks and fields, requiring an issue excitation, an exciting unit mounted in connection therewith, consisting of stationary fields and adjacent rotating' disks, brushes for producing the initial excitation, and means for substituting combs for the brush-contact when the excitation is established, whereby the exciting unit becomes a unit of and a constituent part of the generator, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. In an influence-machine, the combination .ISAAC W. DETWILLER.

Witnesses:

D. B. TUTTLE, E. H. BURNHAM. 

